Betty didn’t seem put out by his tone or his answer at all. She waved her hand, as if batting away his grumpiness. “Ah, but you see, how can the town truly fight the evil embedded in it without those connections and that drive to fight for their relationships?”
Atticus blinked, as if he’d never truly considered that, then cleared his throat and leaned forward. “The townsfolk want to defeat the evil witches to be free of their control, and that is their motivation to keep fighting. It’s dangerously distracting for them to form authentic relationships whilst being controlled by evil. As I said, I don’t write whimsy or romance. I write about the darker side of humanity—greed, control, possession.”
“And you do it very well.” Betty nodded in agreement, a mischievous smile on her lips as her gaze darted to the side of the room—seemingly to Arwen Love—and returning her focus to Atticus. “I just think you’ll find, in time, that love can be the motivation, too. Often, a stronger motivation to defeat the evils of the world.”
Atticus smiled, but it wasn’t a warm, inviting one. It was a challenging, defiant one. “We’ll see what happens as the series progresses.”
Another person raised a hand.
“Yes?”
“So, there will be more books in The Witches of Coldwater Bay series?”
“Of course, they may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. The witches of Coldwater Bay will be back,” Atticus answered with a terse nod.
I waited long enough for Atticus to sign my copy of the book, then Nellie and I snuck out when the Hartley triplets seemed intent on cornering Arwen Love at the refreshment table.
“So, it appears the Hartley sisters have a new target,” I murmured once we’d made it to the street. Nellie zipped up her jacket, sending me a questioning look. “Their focus was very much on Atticus tonight.”
“Well, he was the reason for the event. Perhaps they’re interested in his writing and future books?”
I thought back to how the triplets had cornered Arwen, who’d seemed completely off kilter from the moment Atticus walked in. There was no way the Hartley triplets hadn’t picked up on Arwen’s reaction if I’d picked up on it. Arwen had always been shy, but she’d seemed outright shaken to her core tonight and that difference hadn’t appeared until Atticus had.
Something was brewing there, and the Hartley triplets had their hands in it. That meant that their focus might veer from us a little, and I wasn’t mad about that.
“We’ll see,” I grinned. “Are you still hungry? We could go to the diner for some food if you’d like.”
“I should probably get home,” Nellie said. “I work tomorrow, and I apparently need a good nine hours of sleep or I’m a walking zombie the next day.”
“Okay.” I nodded, taking her hand as we walked. “Well, thank you for coming out with me tonight.”
“I had a lot of fun,” Nellie admitted.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nellie
* * *
Waiting for the results of the DNA test and the date of my ultrasound seemed to take forever. Work kept me busy, especially after the snowstorm. We had so many calls and emails to return after the snow day.
Then there was Noah. He’d insisted on taking me out on a few dates. We went to the author signing with Atticus Connelly—which had been one of the most interesting town events I’d witnessed yet, especially with the stand-off between Betty and Atticus. I’d started to feel a little hopeful that the Hartley sisters had lost interest in my and Noah’s relationship, but that proved to be false when I ran into them at the grocery store.
They had all kinds of questions for me about Noah, although they didn’t drop any more comments about babies or gene pools, so I considered that a win. I was showing more and more every day, and thankful for the layers winter required I wear to stay warm.
I’d managed to avoid attention so far, but I could tell Charlotte was growing suspicious of me. She hadn’t outright asked me any intrusive questions, but she seemed to study me closely when she thought I wasn’t paying attention, as if looking for answers in my behaviour or movements.
But finally, the day for my appointments arrived. I’d given Damien plenty of notice that I’d be out for the entire day, so Charlotte was covering for me. I had the ultrasound appointment in the morning, followed by my afternoon appointment with Dr. Kramer.
At first, I hadn’t been sure if I should invite Noah or not, but Sage and Tabitha worked their magic and convinced me that I should ask him. So, I’d told Noah that he was welcome to join if he could get away for the day, and he’d assured me he could.
I was finishing putting on my mascara when a knock sounded at my door, alerting me to his arrival.
“You’re a little early,” I told him when I opened the door for him and stepped aside.
“Sorry, I’m excited to see you,” he said as he stepped inside, not looking very sorry at all. He pressed a kiss to my temple. “I can wait, if you’re not finished getting ready?”
“I need to brush my teeth, then we can go,” I said, trying to ignore the way my heart raced in my chest at the sight of him.
